New Tool Released for Real Estate Purchase Decisions Based on Ground Risk

Mycat Inc. has launched a 'Correlation Map' tool within its ground risk diagnosis service 'Jiban Checker' (https://jiban.xyz), which visualizes the correlation between ground strength data and public land prices by area. Tool URL: https://jiban.xyz/tools/ground-value-map

The Missing Variable of 'Ground' in Home Purchase Decisions

When considering a home purchase, location, floor plan, price, and age of construction are factors everyone checks. However, few people investigate in advance whether the ground of that land has sufficient strength to support a building. If a ground survey determines the ground to be soft, ground improvement work will be necessary. Depending on the method, for a typical detached house, surface improvement costs 300,000 to 500,000 yen, column improvement costs 500,000 to 1,000,000 yen, and steel pipe piles cost 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 yen (Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Residential Land Disaster Prevention Manual). These costs are usually not included in the land purchase price and are additional costs incurred after purchase. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's Public Land Price Survey (2024), there are significant differences in land prices even within the same municipality, and ground conditions are cited as one of the reasons for this difference (Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Public Land Price Survey 2024). Areas with soft ground tend to have relatively lower land prices, but when ground improvement costs are added, the total cost can sometimes be similar to properties in adjacent areas with good ground conditions.

How the Correlation Map Works

The Correlation Map is a tool that overlays ground N-value (an indicator of ground hardness) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's public land price data on the same map.

Information displayed on the map

• Ground Strength Layer: Displays ground N-values color-coded. Warm colors (red to orange) indicate soft ground, while cool colors (blue to green) indicate good ground. The N-value is a value that affects building foundation design, based on standards set by the Japanese Geotechnical Society (Source: Japanese Geotechnical Society, Methods and Explanations of Ground Investigation).
• Land Price Layer: Plots public land price points from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism on the map, displaying the land price per square meter numerically.

Area Analysis Report

The following analysis is automatically generated for the displayed area:

• Correlation coefficient between ground strength and land price
• Comparison of ground conditions with surrounding areas
• Possibility of ground improvement being necessary (estimated based on N-value and building size)
• Effective land acquisition cost when ground improvement costs are added

Relationship Between Ground and Asset Value

The quality of the ground has a long-term impact on the asset value of a house. First, the rate of building deterioration changes. Buildings on soft ground are at risk of differential settlement (a phenomenon where the building sinks unevenly and tilts), which can cause structural distortion, difficulty opening and closing doors, and cracks in exterior walls. Reports from the Architectural Institute of Japan indicate a high correlation between building damage due to differential settlement and ground conditions (Source: Architectural Institute of Japan, Guidelines for Architectural Foundation Structure Design). Second, it affects future appraisal when selling. In the buying and selling of used homes, there is a difference in buyer confidence between properties with and without a ground survey report. By utilizing the data from the Correlation Map, information such as 'this land has good ground conditions' can be presented as added value at the time of sale.

Use Case 1: Understanding Hidden Costs Before Land Purchase

When you find an interesting property on a real estate portal site, check its address on the Correlation Map. If it's an area with soft ground, you can add the estimated ground improvement cost displayed to your purchase budget to calculate the total cost. Even if you think 'this land is cheap,' if ground improvement costs 1,000,000 yen, the adjacent plot with good ground might actually be cheaper in total. The Correlation Map visualizes these 'hidden costs' before purchase.

Use Case 2: Estimating Home Loans with Ground Risk in Mind

When deciding on a home loan amount, it's an important decision whether to include ground improvement costs in addition to land and building costs. If ground improvement costs are necessary, the overall construction cost increases, affecting the home loan repayment plan. By understanding the possibility of ground improvement in advance with the Correlation Map, you can smoothly proceed with preliminary consultations with financial institutions and requests for estimates from construction companies.

Use Case 3: Reference Material for Local Government Urban Planning and Disaster Prevention Plans

For local government urban planning departments, data visualizing the relationship between ground conditions and land prices on a map serves as basic material that can be used for development permit decisions and disaster prevention plan formulation. It is also useful for identifying areas with high liquefaction risk and considering priority areas for disaster prevention infrastructure development.

Data Sources and Update Frequency

Ground data is based on the National Ground Information Search Site 'KuniJiban' and boring data published by various local governments (Source: National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience). Land price data uses the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's Public Land Price Survey (updated once a year). In the future, we plan to add features such as overlay display of liquefaction risk and simulation of cost comparisons for different ground improvement methods.

* This tool does not guarantee real estate purchase decisions. A professional ground survey by a specialized contractor is required for each planned construction site.

▼ Details of this matterhttps://jiban.xyz/tools/ground-value-map

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